


Breaking Point

by Plucky_Brit



Series: Jemma & Lance Siblingverse [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Drug Use, Jemma Needs A Hug, Mention of abuse, So does Hunter, fluff ending, jemma and hunter are siblings, mama may
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 05:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8132812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plucky_Brit/pseuds/Plucky_Brit
Summary: Jemma and Hunter's father is a waste of space, but Hunter thinks that Jemma's handling it. When he realises the truth, that she almost breaking, he might be too late.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning for drug use and mention of abuse.

He had just put the key in the lock, bracing himself to enter his house, when he heard a rustle from around the side of the house. Instantly he froze, listening carefully for any further sounds, and his heart began to pound as the distinct sound of heavy breaths reached his ears.

The house was in a shitty neighbourhood, and they’d been robbed before (not that there was anything left worth taking) but Jemma and dad were in the house – not that he cared much if something were to happen to the latter.

He heard a small thump, like a hand hitting the side of the house, and he snapped into action, grabbing a branch from the ground and leaping around the corner, ready to strike.

In the darkness he saw a figure sitting on the ground, their head slumped against their chest, hood drawn up and covering them.

“HEY!” He said loudly, less afraid now but still wary. The figure groaned, leaning back just as he was about to grab them up and hoist them away from the property. As they moved the hood slipped back to reveal long brown hair and a pale face.

A pale, _familiar_ face.

“Jemma?” He whispered, sure his eyes were betraying him. His sister was inside sleeping, keeping an eye on dad like she always was. She couldn’t be out here, her hair a mess and her eyes rolled back like… _shit._ Like she’d taken something.

“Jemma.” He said again, his voice tight in his throat as he knelt down in front of her and took her face in his hands. “Oh God, Jem. What’ve you done?” He croaked.

“Hunter?” She whimpered, her eyes finding his briefly before drifting away unfocused, pupils huge. 

He felt another wave of panic at her distant voice. 

Jemma was usually the together one, despite being five years younger. She was the one who’d refused to let them run away and leave their waste-of-space father. He was the one who went wild and got drunk and did stupid, reckless things even though she begged him not to. 

Now that he was in her position he understood her panic a whole lot better. He didn’t know what she’d taken, what had happened to her. What if she’d overdosed? What if she was dying, even as he sat there thinking about what a useless brother he was?

He snapped into action, the idea of her dying snapping him back to reality like nothing else. He desperately wanted to call an ambulance, to take her hospital, to find the best of the best to make sure she’d be okay.

But he couldn’t. The cost of the ambulance alone was more than he’d earned in his entire life, and furthermore, if his no-good father ever found out that Jemma had taken drugs he’d probably kill her.

Jemma’s eyes were now slipping shut, even as he gently tapped her face, begging her to stay awake. He could feel her pulse flickering too fast, along with her shallow breaths. 

He pulled out his phone as he thought through his options, and dialled his girlfriend’s number. She answered on the sixth ring. 

“Oh thank god, Bobbi. I don’t know who else to call. Jemma… Jemma’s taken something, and she’s not responding to me. She recognised me at first, but now I can’t get her to keep her eyes open, and her breathing is strange and… oh god, Bob, what do I do?” He asked desperately, willing her to take charge.

_“Hey, you need to calm down, okay Hunter? I’m going to go and wake mum, and your going to put Jemma in the car and drive her over here. I’ll tell mum what’s happened and she should be able to help. She can call dad back from the hospital if she thinks its bad enough, but she’s a good nurse okay Hunter, she can help.”_

Hunter nodded down the phone, utterly relieved at Bobbi’s cool, calm voice. It helped to soothe the panic that made him want to throw up. “Okay. Okay. I’ll do that. See you soon.” He muttered, hanging up before Bobbi could say any more.

He slid an arm under Jemma’s legs and another round her back, scooping her up easily. She was small for sixteen, too skinny, and she fit into his chest, her head rested limp against his shoulder.

He strapped her carefully into the passenger seat, pressing a kiss to her forehead as her eyelids fluttered weakly.

It was lucky that it was so late at night and that hardly anyone was on the road as he tore through the streets, out of their dodgy neighbourhood and into Bobbi’s clean, smart area of town. The drive usually took half an hour, but tonight he managed it in fifteen minutes, speaking gently to Jemma as he careering through the streets.

Bobbi and her mum were standing outside the door when he finally reached their house, and they both ran out to meet him. “Can you bring her into the house, Hunter?” Melinda said softly, giving his arm a warm squeeze that alleviated his fear ever so slightly. He did as she asked and followed them into the house, cradling Jemma in his arms and then lowering her onto the sofa that Melinda pointed to.

Immediately Melinda knelt beside Jemma, and Bobbi pulled him back to give her mother space to work. Mel’s face was unreadable as she ran her fingers across Jemma, pulling back her eyelids to see her pupils and checking her pulse.

She seemed to come to a decision quickly, standing up and looking at Hunter seriously. “I’m going to give her something to wake her up, okay? It’s perfectly safe, it just tricks the body into thinking there’s no opiates in the system, kind of like a reset, reverses the overdose. It should help her breathing ease up and slow her heart rate.” As she spoke she pulled a small vial from the enormous medical kit her husband insisted upon and carefully filled a syringe.

Bobbi wrapped her arms tightly around Hunter as Mel slowly injected the clear liquid into his baby sister’s small frame.

The effect was almost instantaneous, Jemma’s eyes flying open as she jerked upright, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Hunter saw her panic and ran to her, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her arms gently. Her eyes found his and he saw instant relief, her body sagging. “Hunter?” She whispered, her eyes wide and scared and tired, and he wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Oh god, Jemma.” He whispered into her hair. “You’re okay. You’re okay.” He said, convincing himself as much as her.

Her body shuddered and he realised that she was crying silently into his shoulder, her body shaking with the effort. Still hugging her tightly he pulled himself up onto the sofa and let her curl into his chest.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to… I just…” She broke off, her voice muffled into his shirt as he rubbed her back soothingly.

He looked up at Melinda, her familiar eyes laced with sadness and worry. “Thank you, Mel. I don’t know what – “ He broke off, shuddering as the realisation that he could have lost Jemma slowly broke over him.

 “Oh sweetie, it’s okay.” Mel told him softly, sitting down on his other side and giving him a gentle hug. Then she placed a hand on Jemma’s messy hair, stroking it tenderly. “Listen sweetie, let’s get you into a proper bed, okay? You’re going to feel like crap for a bit, so I’ll put a bucket by the bed in case you need to throw up, and some water.” She looked up at Bobbi as she spoke, and Bobbi quickly disappeared to grab said bucket.

 Jemma slowly lifted herself from Hunter’s lap, and he helped her stand, keeping an arm wrapped around her waist. She leant heavily against him, one arm coming up to press against her head like it was hurting her.

 Mel led them up stairs, him and Jemma moving slowly as Jemma began to feel waves of nausea with each movement. They made it to the bathroom just in time for Jemma to throw up into the toilet, Melinda taking over, pulling the hair back from her face and rubbing her back soothingly.

Eventually they made it to the guest bedroom, where Bobbi had pulled back the bed covers and Hunter helped her slide into the bed. Her eyes slid shut quickly, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Sleep well, Jem. I’ll be back soon.” He said softly. He got up to leave, and Jemma whispered something that he couldn’t quite hear. “What was that Jem?”

“I miss mum.” She murmured, a tear lipping down her cheek.

Hunter froze. Her voice was so small and tired, utterly bone weary. “Yeah, Jem. I miss her too.”

Bobbi and Melinda were waiting for him in the sitting room. He slumped down onto the sofa beside Bobbi, and she pressed a kiss into his hair. “You okay, baby?” She asked tenderly.

He shrugged. “No.” He said honestly, exhaustion finally catching up with him now that the drama of the night was over.

Melinda handed him a beer. “I think you owe me an explanation, Lance.” She said seriously, but when he looked at her face all he saw was sadness. 

He took a large swig before he spoke again. “Honestly I don’t really know what happened. Jemma’s _so_ not like this, I promise. I know you’ve never met her Mel, but you’ve heard me talk about her, about how good she is in school, about how loyal she is to dad even though he couldn’t be less deserving. She’s… she’s never done _anything_ like this before. Not that I knew of. Oh god. What if she’s been doing this shit and I’ve not noticed. I’ve not been around much recently, I – “

“Hunter, calm down.” Bobbi interrupted him softly. “Don’t jump to any conclusions before she gives her side of the story.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Okay.” He breathed, squeezing her hand gratefully.

“And what happened tonight?” Mel prodded gently.

He sighed. “I spoke to her this afternoon, to tell her I’d be back late, and she said that she was going to Fitz’s house after school. She always does that, though. Anyway, I got home just after one, heard a sound and checked it out. She was passed out against the side of the house. God knows how long she was there before I found her. God knows that would have happened if I’d just gone into the house and gone to sleep.” He shuddered, drinking deeply from the bottle.

“Okay, well how about we call it a night, continue this tomorrow when Jemma’s feeling a bit better?” Mel suggested, and Hunter looked at her gratefully.

He kissed Bobbi goodnight and went back to Jemma’s room, where he was pleased to see her sleeping peacefully. He slid in beside her, smiling as she curled into his side in her sleep. He finally fell asleep as the dawn light began to filter through the curtains.

 

He woke to the sensation of Jemma pulling away from him, and instantly he sat upright.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice groggy with tiredness. She had been in the process of sliding out of the bed, clearly trying not to disturb him, a guilty expression on her face when she saw him looking at her.

“Um. Yes. I was just…” She trailed off, looking hopefully at the door. “… going to go home…”

“Jemma.” He said sternly. “Don’t you dare. Not before we talk, and you thank Melinda for saving your…” His breath hitched. “Jesus, Jemma, you could’ve _died_.” He croaked.

Her eyes filled with tears. “I… I didn’t mean to…” She whispered, still not looking at him.

“Didn’t mean to do what?” He said angrily, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and striding across the room, blocking the door. “Didn’t mean to take drugs, or you didn’t mean to overdose?”

Jemma flinched. “Lance… I… I just wanted…” She trailed off again, and he walked up to her, kneeling in front of her and forcing her to look at him. She looked pale and afraid.

“Tell me that was the first time you did it, Jemma. Tell me you’ve never done this shit before, that it hasn’t been right in front of me the whole time and I’ve not been a terrible brother.” He whispered.

She remained silent. It was all he needed to hear. He buried his face in his hands. “Jesus. Tell me how long it’s been going on for.” He croaked, his throat tight with shock. She shrugged, and he snapped. “Tell me, Jemma.” He growled, “You tell me everything, when it started, why, where you’ve been getting this _shit_ from.”

 She gave a small sob, her arms wrapping around her chest, her eyes squeezing shut. His resolve shattered, and he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry.” She whispered. “I’m so sorry. I was so stupid.”

“Yeah you were.” He agreed forcefully, and then far more gently. “Please, tell me what’s going on with you.”

“It just made things seem… less.” She finally said.

“What do you mean?” He probed.

 She took a shaky breath. “Someone offered me some at a party, a few months ago, and I’d been drinking and I wasn’t thinking and I just did it, and I regretted it immediately. But then… then it started to sink in, and all the shit with dad and money and everything else seemed less important. I know it’s wrong, Lance. I… I wanted to tell you. I almost did but… it was such a relief. It was so freeing.”

Lance was terrified at the desire that lingered in her voice. “What happened yesterday?” He asked tentatively.

She flinched. “Dad.”

“What did he do?” Hunter said sadly, knowing where this could be headed.

“Just… just his usual, but he was drunk, and then he was talking about mum, and…” Her voice broke and she began to cry in earnest. “… and he was saying how ashamed she’d be of me. It… it hurt so much, Lance, and I just wanted it to stop hurting, and I had a few pills left so… so I took them, and I wasn’t thinking, I just _hurt_.” She wrapped her arms around him as he rubbed her back soothingly.

“Oh, Jem. Jemma, I’m sorry.” He whispered into her hair, feeling her misery, her desperation, in her breaking voice. He continued to hold her tightly as she cried, holding her together as she shook apart in his arms, each shuddering breath breaking his heart at the realisation of his total ignorance of her misery. “Things are going to get better, Jemma, I promise.” He whispered, swearing he’d never let her go again.

He heard someone walking down the corridor outside the room and pulled away from Jemma gently. “Why don’t I go see if Bobbi has some clothes you can borrow, or maybe Nat – she’s closer to your size?” He suggested.

Jemma nodded slowly, and he quickly slipped from the room. Bobbi was hovering outside the door, like he’d suspected. She wrapped him in a hug the second she saw him. “I… I, um, heard some of what she said…” Bobbi said guiltily. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I was just waiting for the right moment to come in and – “

Hunter cut her off gently. “It’s okay, Bob. I would’ve told you.”

“I got Nat to pull out some clothes for Jemma, come on.” Bobbi said, smiling, and pulled him down the corridor into her little sister’s room. On the bed was a small pile, and he scooped it up quickly, deciding to let Jemma choose.

He opened the door to the guest room without thinking and froze as he saw Jemma with her top half off. “Jesus, Shit. Sorry.” He mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut and dropping the clothes, before backing out of the room rapidly.

Then he realised something, and he had to fight the urge to throw up. “Fuck.” He muttered, slamming his hand against the wall, swallowing thickly.

 She was covered in bruises.

He dimly realised that Bobbi was talking loudly to him, but there was a rushing noise in his ears as he struggled to control his breathing, struggled to restrain himself from bursting into the room and demanding an explanation. He heard the door swing open, and the noise snapped him from his trance. He turned to face her, and he knew she knew that he knew. She didn’t meet his eyes, looking instead at his ears. She was wringing her hands together, her nails digging into the white flesh.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, and he realised that he was crying, unwelcome tears spilling down his cheeks. “We had a deal, Jem. You promised me.”

Bobbi was looking between the two of them, an unreadable expression on her face. When the tears began to spill down Jemma’s face too, Bobbi quickly wrapped her in a tight hug. Jemma finally met his eyes over Bobbi’s arms. “You would’ve made me leave him.” She whispered.

He fisted his hands. “Damn right I would.” He growled. “He deserves to go to prison for this, Jemma.” 

“He’s our dad.” She cried. “He’s our dad, and he’s just hurting. It’s not… it’s not his f-“

“Don’t you dare say it’s not his fault Jemma. Don’t you dare.” He hissed, closing his eyes and rubbing his cheeks roughly, wiping away the tears as anger overpowered his anguish.

“Okay, why don’t we go have some breakfast, calm things down a bit?” Bobbi said gently, and he saw Jemma’s relief at his girlfriend’s intervention.

“Fine.” He growled, turning and leading the way downstairs.

Mel was waiting for them, her husband Phil by her side. He saw Jemma freeze as Mel approached her, her gaze unreadable, and felt a twinge in his heart as Bobbi’s mum wrapped his baby sister in the kind of motherly hug she hadn’t had in five years. Jemma stood stiffly until Melinda released her.

“I’m so sorry.” He heard Jemma tell her quietly.

Mel gave her a gentle smile. “We’ll talk after breakfast honey. We got Nat to take Skye out to breakfast so the house should be quiet.”

Jemma nodded, looking at her feet.

Hunter wanted to pull her aside there and then, to demand she show him what exactly their father had done so that he could go and do that same to him. His blood was boiling, his hands shaking as he tried to sit quietly and listen to the small talk between Bobbi and her parents.

He could feel Jemma’s eyes on him, but every time he tried to meet her eyes she looked away again. He sighed into his cereal, breathing deeply. He and Jemma were so close, or so he’d thought. Even before mum died they’d been closer that any ten and sixteen year old siblings were supposed to be. He’d always been proud of their bond, of the way they shared everything and been there for each other.

Bobbi had even told him how proud she was of the way he took care of his little sister, how she wished she’d had a brother like him before she’d been adopted by the Coulsons. But it turned out it had all been bullshit, his pride over how he could care for Jemma. It turned out that she’d been taking drugs and getting hit by the man who was supposed to love her, and he’d been totally ignorant.

He didn’t move as Bobbi cleaned the table and sat back down beside him. If he moved he thought he might break something, so he locked his jaw and stared at the table until Mel started talking.

“Jemma, we didn’t get a proper introduction last night, but I’m Melinda, Bobbi’s mum, and this is Phil, her dad. He was at work last night – he’s a doctor – but he’s been brought up to speed on what happened.” Mel said. Hunter wanted to laugh at her casual tone, like this wasn’t one of the worst weekends of his entire life.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Phil asked Jemma quietly, his voice tender.

Jemma shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I have a bit of a headache.” She admitted.

Phil nodded. “Yes, Naloxone will do that to you, but then it is better than the alternative.”Jemma flinched.

“Now, sweetie, we were talking last night, and whilst we don’t know you personally, we are very familiar with Lance, and he talks about you non-stop, so we do feel we know a lot about you. The thing is, what we’ve heard doesn’t really match up with what we’ve heard. Can you help us understand why that is?” May spoke gently, and no anger was in her words, but Jemma’s eyes began to fill with tears for the third time that morning.

For the first time, her eyes met Hunter’s, and he saw her pleading question in them. Giving her the slightest of nods, he intervened. “Jem, why don’t you go next door for a bit, and I’ll fill them in on what you told me?” He suggested.

She gave him the ghost of a smile and then glanced at Mel, checking that that was alright. She gave a quick nod and Jemma fled the room.

“Over to you then, Hunter.” Phil said seriously. “You owe us some answers too. Mel could’ve gotten in serious trouble if anything had gone wrong.”

Hunter leant forwards, resting his head in his hands before answering. “God, Phil. I’m so sorry, I just panicked, and I couldn’t call an ambulance and I didn’t know where else to go.”

 He felt Melinda’s steady hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. You did the right thing for her.” She said gently.

He couldn’t breathe, all of a sudden. “No I didn’t.” He croaked. The room stayed silent. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him. “She, um, she told me some stuff this morning, and then I… I worked some stuff out too.” He felt sick as he told them what she’d told him, and then the bruises he’d seen by accident. 

Bobbi was crying by the time he’d finished. Phil looked like he was at a funeral, his face grim and sombre. Mel’s face was unreadable as she stood from the table, turning and pulling the medical kit from the cupboard above the sink where she’d returned it just hours previously.

“I’m going to go see if there’s any injuries that need looking at. I would say you should do it Phil, but I think a female stranger is less threatening that a male one.” May said quietly, so that Jemma in the next room couldn’t hear.

Hunter nodded, standing to join her, but Bobbi put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down. “I don’t think you should go, baby. You’ll get angry and upset her more. Why don’t I help? She knows me, a familiar face might be nice.” She suggested, looking up at her mother.

“That’s a good idea sweetie.” Mel nodded. Then she looked at Phil. “Why don’t you talk to Hunter about what we were talking about earlier?”

Hunter stared at Phil as the two girls left the room. “What did you talk about?” He said warily.

Phil sighed. “You’ve voiced your worries about your dad before, Lance, and Mel and I were talking about the… the potential drug habit that Jemma was showing and how your father could be a trigger for it.”

“And?” Hunter said, when Phil hesitated, confused as to where this was going.

“We were going to offer help, a place to stay that’s away from temptation, that kind of thing. Since the latest revelations though, that fact that he’s been… hurting her, we’re going to have to talk to social services, Hunter.”

Hunter stiffened. “They’ll take her away.” He croaked. “I… I looked into it before, and the nearest group home for teenagers is two hours away. She’s better off with me than in a place like that, but I can’t afford to live alone, not in the kind of place that would pass social services regulations. I know she can’t stay at home, and I know he needs to be locked up, but they’ll take her away.” He realised he was crying now, a twenty one year old man crying in front of his girlfriend’s dad, but he couldn’t stop himself. “She’s all I have, Phil, and I’m all she has.”

Phil stood up and sat down beside Hunter, putting an arm around him. “Hunter, listen. I’m sorry, we have to call social services. You know that I think.”

 “No, please -” He groaned.

“Let me finish, Hunter.” Phil said kindly. “We’re foster parents, Mel and I. I mean, we haven’t done it for a long time, not since we adopted Skye, and that was… seven years ago I think, when she was eight. But we still have our credentials. She can stay with us Hunter, till you get sorted with your own place.” 

Hunter looked at him in awe, but before he could respond he heard Jemma’s muffled sobs from the next room.

“Jemma.” He muttered, rushing from the room and leaving Phil sitting alone at the table.

 

She was curled on the sofa, wrapped in Melinda’s arms. He could see her whole body trembling. 

“Jemma.” He whispered, and she looked up at him, her face red and blotchy, tears spilling down her cheeks. He could make out the white of a bandage peeking out the end of her t-shirt sleeve. “Is she okay?” He mouthed to Mel as he squeezed onto the sofa beside them so that she could burrow into his side.

“Nothing serious.” Mel said softly, running her fingers through Jemma’s hair. “Did you talk to Phil?”

Hunter nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

“And?” Mel said quietly, still stroking Jemma gently.

He stared at her. “I can’t ask that of you.” He said softly. He could feel Jemma tensing between them. She could tell something was up.

“We want to, Lance. Both of you are welcome here.” May said, and Jemma flew upright between them, looking from one to the other.

“What’s going on?” She asked nervously, wiping her eyes roughly.

“Jemma, darling, we’re going to have to call social services. You know that, don’t you?” Melinda said, and Jemma stiffened, turning to stare at Hunter with wide eyes.

 “No, please no. I don’t want to, I don’t want to go.” She said desperately, grabbing onto Hunter’s arm. He squeezed her hand gently as Mel continued.

“I know, sweetie, and we don’t want that either. Phil and I talked it over. We… we were hoping you’d let us foster you.” Hunter tensed, waiting for Jemma’s response. “What about dad?” She whispered finally, and he clenched his fists angrily, gritting his teeth.

“Christ, Jem, stop it _please._ Stop thinking about that bastard that beat you up and made you feel like crap. You never need to see him again, Jemma. He made his own bed, let him lie in it for Christ’s sake.” He spat.

“Hunter, calm down.” Mel said quietly as Jemma whimpered softly. “Listen, Jemma, you know that we’re not going to let you go back there, okay?" Jemma shrugged. “And you also know we’re going to have to call social services.”

“No, you don’t.” Jemma begged.

“Hear me out sweetie. Phil and I are registered foster parents. We can arrange to have you stay here, rather than go to the group home, okay?” Mel expanded.

“Oh.” Hunter could see the surprise on Jemma’s face. “Um. I don’t know what to say.” She whispered.

“Obviously it’s your choice, Jemma, but it’s a genuine offer, we’d love to have you.” Mel said softly.

“You don’t know me.” Jemma whispered, and Hunter could hear the anxiety in her voice. “You… you have your family, your kids. I couldn’t…”

This time Bobbi spoke up. “I know you, Jemma. I can vouch for you. And as for Nat and Skye, they’ll understand. Nat, especially.”

Jemma licked her lips. Hunter squeezed her hand tightly. “Okay.” She whispered.

May smiled. “Is that a ‘yes’ okay?”

Jemma nodded.

Hunter smiled.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I'd love to hear your thoughts!


End file.
